"Blue" 2020 Show

This show will run December 1-31, 2020. Artists from around the world were called to submit their work. There were 169 accepted entries and they came from 22 different states in the USA, as well as 18 other locations: Belarus, Canada, China, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Finland, France, Germany, Israel, Latvia, Lithuania, Russia, Singapore, South Africa, Sweden, Ukraine, and the United Kingdom. A variety of styles and mediums were entered, including but not limited to acrylic, alcohol ink, colored pencil, digital, linocut, mixed media, oil, pastel, pen and ink, photography, plastic, scratchboard, spray paint, tempera, and watercolor. The judging criterion was originality, interpretation, quality, demonstration of ability, and usage of medium. Other factors, such as the clarity of the images provided and their ability to be viewed online, as well as relating to the theme, also contributed to our decision. “Best of Show”, “First Place”, and “Second Place” winners received a monetary award in addition to special recognition.

We were very happy to donate 10% of all the entry fees from this show to Natural High. They are a nonprofit drug prevention program inspiring and helping youth to discover and pursue their natural high instead of an artificial high. For more information about them, please visit http://naturalhigh.org/. Colors of Humanity Art Gallery, LLC is not affiliated with Natural High. It is our hope that this small act of kindness will blossom and grow to help someone else.

Thank you to all the artists who participated! Your talents and skills gave us a diverse body of work to create this attractive show.

Buyers- Please contact the artists directly for sales. Colors of Humanity Art Gallery does not handle any part of the sale or collect any commission, it is solely between the buyer and artist. You may find a link to the artist’s website or email address below their work.

SYNCRETISM IN MY ARTWORK.

My work has an expressionist-symbolist style and I use mythologies from eastern and western civilizations. Syncretism is the combination or fusion of different beliefs, philosophies, mythologies or religions, emphasizing an underlying unity that allows an inclusive approach to other faiths. Syncretism commonly has expressions in art and culture that can join together. I use Syncretism to develop patterns that reveal how our current culture opens itself into its different art’s functions to reflect our way of living, hopes and mistakes.

The purpose with my work is to find a way to communicate our history and where we are now so that people can understand that we have choices as to our present and future. The prophecies that are in every mythology, philosophy, or religion will be the same today as they were in ancient times. They become alive when the patterns that created that prophecy are repeated in history. They are a warning, that history will be repeated if the patterns are not acknowledged and behaviors changed. Many of the civilizations that we don’t know anything about today is because they were subjected to a decline that crystallizes in fear and anguish and a profound failure to return to the positive spirit that was in its roots. This is the key, to have the science of the spirit present. My focus is on these patterns.

Statement of the artwork.

Asterea, in ancient Greek religion is the virgin goddess of justice, she was the last of the immortals to live with humans during the Golden Age, and abandoned the earth during the Iron Age, then she ascended to heaven to become the constellation Virgo. Asterea is associated with the general spirit of renewal of culture occurring at this time, the balance scale in this image is replaced by the remora on her left hand and the fire salamander on her right hand, symbol of fight of the opposites and at the end transmutes into a new being that has the best of both contenders. Basically, is an image of hope, it is the summary of a series of struggles and conflicts that are resolved or give way to a new culture that accommodates the elements that have been oppressed, rejected, and held at a disadvantage.

I was born and grew up in Nikopol, Ukraine. I have been fond of painting since early childhood. I am self-taught and I write paintings under a pseudonym Lisa Mihalchik.

I graduated from the Higher Educational Institution in Kiev with a Master's degree in finance in 2010. But, painting has always been a pretty important part of my life. I studied painting by books, exhibitions, communication with creative people. I paint in different styles: realism, abstractionism, figurative painting. Since I am an amateur painter, it gives me the freedom to express forms and colors, to express emotions and asocial thinking. It gives me the opportunity to open and show the world to others, expanding the boundaries of its knowledge, realizing the ability to play with color as a special living substance.

My name is Rachel Faith Nichols-Turi, and I live by my middle name. I have Faith in many things, the Lord, my art, and myself. I’ve known art was my destiny since I was a baby and my mom would find me in the mornings surrounded by drawings that I had been working on long before anyone else was awake. Before I could even walk, I used to pull myself out of my crib and crawl to the coffee table where I knew there were art supplies waiting for me. Every day since, my passion for creativity drives me in everything I do. I devote all my time to improving my artistic ability, which means I don’t allow myself to get caught up in anything that would distract me from my artistic and academic success. This piece, "Little Light of Mine," was inspired by my walk in life which has been very dark except for the light of my art that has lit my path. When I was 14, I was assaulted and suffered two TBIs (traumatic brain injuries) known as double concussion syndrome, which changed my outlook on life and art completely. Soon I couldn't taste, feel on my left side, walk, keep up in school, I had short term memory loss and lost hearing and peripheral vision on my left side along with more mental and emotional issues that still haven't recovered. I was in so much pain and had severe cognitive and speech issues, so I communicated through my art. My drawings grew very expressive and emotional, but without this form of therapy I don’t think I would have been able to overcome the events that took place in my life and recover to the point I did. Art, or the "Little Light of Mine," is the hope that resides inside of me and keeps me walking even in the darkest of times. Sometimes, the world for me is so dark that art is the only light I can see. Since I was put on this Earth, art has been my clear path and true passion that started as just my favorite thing to do and ended up being my saving grace. I have many artistic interests and developed a wide range of skill sets such as drawing, poetry, cooking, metal-smithing and jewelry work, sculpture, design, and more. However, I recently discovered my love for oil painting that has opened my eyes to a new artistic world and a profession I hope to pursue. I’ve painted custom guitars that are being hung in music stores in Texas and being

used all over the Country, I’ve designed many logos for local companies including Southern Maine University Rugby team, won Cook-offs and other cooking competitions along with making wedding cakes, have designed brochures, have done countless art commissions and tattoo designs, sold work in galleries all over Maine and at local art festivals, have done paintings for a Marriott hotel in downtown Portland and even had a Chairman’s award created in my honor as well as being featured in the paper. I have been accepted, with scholarships, into schools for my art across the country such as RISD, SIAC and Tulane but am currently a student at the University of Georgia with a major in advertising and design. Although I have many different artistic routes to choose from, I do know that art is the life for me because without art there is no reason for life. Art has saved me and given me purpose and for that I will spend the rest of my life devoting myself to my art and the motivation and love I have for creating. I have high hopes and expectations for myself and I know I have the motivation, God-given talent and self taught skills to leave a colorful mark on this dark world.

Colors of Humanity Art Gallery

"Blue" 2020 Show

Best of Show

First Place

Second Place

Honorable Mention

Noteworthy

"Blue" 2020 Show